Capital Outlay Program

The State capital outlay process, although long standing, became particularly active
just after World War II, when State and local funds were plentiful and burgeoning
population was willing to pay taxes for schools, colleges, parks, highways, and other
capital improvements. These capital outlay funds were earmarked for initial capital
improvements: land, infrastructure, buildings, and first-time purchase of equipment.

The program assists districts by providing financial resources for major capital projects,
such as new construction or existing facility renovation. Local contributions to any
given project are determined on a case by case basis.

Projects funded by this Program must be major capital projects, such as new construction
or existing facility renovation. Projects for facilities that are not State-supported
pursuant to Title 5 (parking lots, stadiums, bookstores, and dormitories) are not
considered for funding in the Capital Outlay Program. Projects for repair or maintenance
of facilities are supported by the Scheduled Maintenance & Special Repairs Program.
Projects for control or removal of hazardous substances are supported by the Hazardous
Substances Program.

To apply for state capital outlay funds, community college districts annually submit
project proposals to the Chancellor’s Office in two parts. The first part, called
an Initial Project Proposal (IPP), is a three-page concept paper. The second part,
called a Final Project Proposal (FPP), is a complete proposal with justification and
budget detail. Projects are to be initially submitted to the Chancellor’s Office for
review by July 1 using the three-page IPP form. After evaluating the IPPs, the Chancellor’s
Office notifies the districts of those IPPs to develop into FPPs due the following
February for possible submission to the Board for project scope approval. It is expected
that each district will discuss in the FPP the relationship of the proposed project
with the district’s comprehensive educational and facility master plans. It is further
expected that the districts will explore why there is no viable alternative other
than to support the proposed project. This process is described in this presentation created by Walt Reno.

Every year, SMCCCD submits a Five Year Construction Plan (5YCP) to the State Chancellor’s
Office for funding consideration in the Capital Outlay Program. This plan is developed
by the Facilities Planning Department, in consultation with College and District administration
and as approved by the Board of Trustees. Initial project proposals for State funding,
final project proposals, and a comprehensive detailing of planned projects (be they
locally or State funded) are shown in priority and sequence in the five year construction
plan. The plan takes into account an important criterion for campus facilities planning:
capacity to load ratios. The capacity to load ratio is a comparison of the square
footage a College has in relation to the square footage the College’s enrollment indicates
it needs. Capacity to load ratios are measured for different categories of space,
including lecture, laboratory, office, library, and audio/visual support spaces.

The Five Year Construction Plans are extremely large documents which include multiple
Final Project Proposals (FPPs), Initial Project Proposals (IPPs), and capacity to
load ratio analyses. For copies of these documents, please contact the Facilities
Planning & Operations Department.

San Mateo County CCD

SMCCCD are a three College District located between San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. Our Colleges serve more than 40,000 students each year and offer the first two years of instruction in a wide variety of transfer programs as well as more than 90 vocational-technical programs.